


stay? (at least promise me you'll come back again).

by orphan_account



Category: High School Musical: The Musical: The Series (TV)
Genre: Consensual, Denial of Feelings, Dorks in Love, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Friends to Lovers, How Do I Tag, Implied Consent, Implied/Referenced Sex, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, Light Angst, Long-Distance Relationship, Phone Sex, Requited Unrequited Love, Smut, Soulmates, Stargazing, Teenage Dorks, like very light, no but like seriously how do I tag, they're both 18 before anything happens
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-03-18
Updated: 2021-03-18
Packaged: 2021-03-27 01:47:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,210
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30115266
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: His smile is huge and sweet and familiar and he tucks her in, pushing her hair out of her face and behind her shoulders. He rests her on her side and tucks a pillow behind her back to insure she stays that way before pulling up the covers and stroking her cheek one last time.“Night Neens.”“Mmhph. No. Stay. Fall asleep with me, please?” she mumbles with a groan, her heavy eyelids closing, headache already presenting itself.“Not tonight.” he smiles while biting his lower lip endearingly. She barely hears him utter the words, “Maybe one day if I’m lucky, though.” before she drifts off to sleep.or a one shot with questionable canon-compliance, a slightly pointless plot, and them being dorks until they realize that no matter how many times life may lead them apart they'll always find their way back to each other in the end.
Relationships: Ricky Bowen & Nini Salazar-Roberts, Ricky Bowen/Nini Salazar-Roberts
Comments: 4
Kudos: 40





	stay? (at least promise me you'll come back again).

**Author's Note:**

> alternate summary: a random breakup scene then ~embarrassing teenage phone sex~ that's it that's literally it...... oh and soulmates stargazing at the end too there's my redemption arch <333

It goes like this. 

  
  
  


Nini gets offered a position at her dream school, and Ricky doesn’t want to hold her back, so they try. They try but it’s harder than they thought it would be. Harder because Ricky’s processing through things with his mom, trying not to associate Nini leaving with his mother leaving too. Hard because Nini doesn’t have any time (which is likely why the first piece even happens. Because they were good at talking before she left, good at helping Ricky understand why he felt how he did and Ricky being able to make her feel like enough).

  
  
  


But, like. Nini didn’t have time, no matter how badly they both needed her to. And she doesn’t blame Ricky for regarding her in the same light as his mom at times no matter how bad it hurts, because she was never there enough to actually assure him of it. 

  
  
  


So. Maybe she is like his mom. Whatever. It’s only a little soul crushing. 

  
  
  


What's really soul crushing is that they’re beginning to resent each other, and Nini  _ cannot _ , will not, put them through that again. They're 17 and only half way through their junior year and it’s just not the right time for them no matter how much they both wish it was. And so, yeah. It’s all very soul crushing. 

  
  
  


It’s not on bad terms, though. They talk and Nini thinks they’re both honest and in a good place with the decisions they came to together. They still send each other memes the other finds funny, and Nini still sends Ricky every song that reminds her of him because of how much it used to help him. They never really talk though, just one word responses and links.

  
  
  


And Nini misses him, but she thinks she’s doing alright all things considered. A brand new school in a brand new state with a brand new everything was overwhelming enough, and she never thought she could do it without Ricky by her side the way they’d talked about.

  
  
  


So she’s feeling alright. Feeling like they’re finally friends again, which is what she’d missed most above all. School is ending soon now, and Nini’s excited for summer break and getting to be back with all of her friends. 

  
  
  


She stopped feeling so good at the very end of May, when Ashlyn and Kourtney informed her Ricky had been invited to prom by some senior girl and it was big news because juniors don’t go to prom, not unless they’re asked by a senior. And here he was, going to prom with a pretty senior at the ripe end of all their junior years. Nini doesn’t expect to feel so jealous. 

  
  
  


To his credit he does text her though, because he’s Ricky and he’s good like that, because he doesn’t want either of them getting burned in a crossfire relating to their confusing relationship that they could avoid. Nini taps on his name in messages and scrolls up to the informal texts they’d exchanged a few weeks ago, which doesn’t take long since they’ve hardly texted at all since it happened and she came back for the summer. 

  
  
  


**5:49 PM // Ricky:** Hey Neens. Idk how to say this really but this senior girl I know asked me to prom, and ik juniors can’t say no, but i seriously will if that’s what u want. I know we’re not together or anything and we haven’t been in a while but we never really talked about what would happen if we saw other ppl so. This is me doing that ig. Miss u dude i hope boarding school finals arent too crazy hard. were all excited 2 see you this summer

**6:53 PM // Nini:** ofc that's okay ricky, have fun. I'm excited to see everyone too :)

  
  
  


And she had half meant it when she sent it, truly. Now though she wished she could take it back, take everything back, because getting to see Ricky for the first time a few weeks ago after all that had happened while they were apart felt insanely regretful. 

  
  
  


Regretful because Ricky was still seeing this girl, Cassie with the blonde hair going to a college only 20 minutes away from Ricky in September, when Nini would be flying states away. Regretful because she missed her best friend. She had realized how much she had lost when they fell out, but being around him and their other friends was now an even louder, more painful reminder of what might've been had things gone differently. 

  
  
  


Regretful, probably most of all, because Ricky got hot (and she doesn't want to sound shallow, but man did she have regrets about that one. She’d never experienced sexual attraction like what Ricky made her feel, but this time the feeling was different than the other times she’d thought of him in that light. Persistent. She was fairly certain her body had saved up every ounce of teenage hormones and sex drive her entire life, only to release it all like a broken dam the minute she saw his curly hair again in the summer sun. 

  
  
  


…

  
  
  


Ricky knocks on her front door, and before she can get a word out as she opens the door for him he storms past her, huffing as he transcends the staircase and hangs a sharp left to her room. She can hear a dramatic sigh and the sound of his body flopping down on her bed in earnest angst. 

  
  
  


When she walks into the room, she can’t help but smile and try not to laugh at his cheek squished into the mattress covered in fluffy sheets, made even cuter by his grumpy facial expression.

  
  
  


“Don’t laugh at my misery.” he grumbles, lip popping out in a pout. And Nini thinks he’s kind of adorable. She crawls onto the bed next to him and starts petting his hair. She forgot how much she missed getting to run her fingers through the soft curls. He moves to rest his head against her lap and curl around her legs, so she stretches out too and pulls him into her side. She pointedly does not think about how right it feels cuddling with him. It used to be their  _ thing _ , so of course they’d still be good at it. It was only logical. 

  
  
  


“Ricky, she’s like 20 minutes away. I give her till winter break before she’s running back to you and that pretty little dramatic face.” she says jokingly, squishing his cheeks together between her thumb and pointer finger. 

  
  
  


He looks up at her with big doe eyes, the ones Nini fell in love with. “Oh god, I’m crying to my first ex-girlfriend about my other ex-girlfriend while cuddling her in her own bed, what is wrong with me?” 

  
  
  


“I’ve been asking myself that question for ye--” she giggles and pulls him tighter into her side as he grunts and tries to squirm away from her while she jokes. “Shut up.” She's laying on her side now too, smiling softly, changing her sarcastic tone serious while looking into his eyes with feeling. “Best Friends before any other title, right?” 

  
  


If they'd learned anything this summer, this year, it’s that they were too perfect of souls to not lean on each other. It didn’t have to be romantic. It really didn’t. Just, no feelings. They could just be friends, Nina was sure of it.

“You really are the best person I know.” 

  
  
  


Nini doesn’t know how to respond to that, her cheeks beginning to flush.  _ No feelings no feelings no feelings. _ She pulls him closer, pressing their chests together and wrapping her arms and legs around him like a koala bear. 

  
  
  


They lay there together for an amount of time Nini isn’t sure of, which happens often when she’s with him. Like time ceases to exist. It could be seconds or minutes or hours, all she can think about is how badly she missed the smell of him and the way his body fits against hers. 

  
  
  


The sound of their soft breathing in tandem is calming, but hearing the sleepy rasp of Ricky’s voice as they talk for the first time since falling asleep together on her bed is better. “You know I’m not actually sad about Cassie, right?” he says, lifting his head up to look into her eyes before snuggling back into her neck. “I just wanted to lay with you again.” he whispers softly, sleepily, and Nini suddenly has a very clear revelation that in whatever capacity they are destined for--friendship, lovers, anything--she’s going to love this boy forever. 

  
  
  


But she also doesn’t really know what to say to that again--already so confused where they stand--so she’s instantly relieved when the sound of the garage door opening travels through the house. When she hears her moms walk into the house she squeezes his arm in place of a response, noticing it’s getting dark. “C’mon. We can cuddle on the couch and watch a movie.”

  
  
  
  
  


He grips her tighter and it’s impossibly endearing. “Mmfh. No. Wanna stay here holding you like this.” he snuggles in closer and she can feel his breath on her neck.  _ God _ .

  
  
  


“Moms are here.” she says as she props herself up on her elbow to brush his hair out of his eyes. “You don’t want them to walk in here and see us cuddling because they’ll assume we’re together again and never stop talking about it.”

  
  
  


“Would that really be so bad?” 

  
  
  


Nini ignores the implications, clearing her throat and tugging him up by their clasped hands. “Well, even if we were, we wouldn’t be allowed in here anyway.”

  
  
  


He just smirks.

  
  
  


They watch a movie and he leans into her side in the most friendly looking way possible, but she’s pretty sure her parents know at least a few things are off. They’re not wrong. 

  
  
  


Ricky falls asleep on her shoulder and snores softly before she covers him in more of the blanket and rests her eyes after leading against him too.

  
  
  


_ No feelings. _

  
  
  


…

  
  
  


Nini’s flight back to school flies out 2 days from now, and tonight they’re at some party celebrating the fact that they’re seniors. Nini isn’t ready to imagine the importance of this year and the fact that she won’t have her best friends beside her. Summer had made it feel like she’d never even left, and everything felt uncertain in the worst ways. 

  
  
  
  


She’s alright now though, pleasantly buzzed and laughing so hard she can hardly breath as her and Kortney belt out karaoke songs. Ashlyn takes Nini’s place when she finishes and her eyes immediately magnetize to Ricky’s. She starts walking to him pretending to be seductive, swaying her hips and biting down on her bottom lip while he smiles dopely and tells her how ridiculous she is with his eyes. 

  
  
  


They've been teetering a very fine and breakable line since his break up with Cassie and the night he came over to cuddle. And yeah, maybe she’d be lying if she said that was the last time, but they both felt so safe in each other's arms. So, like, fuck overthinking. 

  
  
  


So yeah. They’re teetering the line. And Nini accidentally trips right over it, stumbling, before she barely makes it into Ricky’s lap which saves her from falling onto the hardwood. 

  
  
  


“Wo-oah, woah there Nini,” he laughs as he catches her. “Are you good?” 

  
  
  


Nini thinks his smile is cute. “Your smiles’ cute,” she smirks with slightly slurred words. 

  
  
  


“And you,” he starts, shifting her in his lap so she has more real estate over his body, gripping her with his strong arms so she doesn’t fall off the ottoman he’s sitting on. He boops her nose. “Are very, very drunk.” 

  
  
  


“Nuh uh.” she giggles. “Slightly buzzed.” She shifts in his lap and her hips line up with his, her backside fitted snugly to his front, and his breath hitches. Nini smirks with a mischievous look in her eyes realizing, pushing her hips down in a way that would probably be innocent if she didn’t look so turned on and slyly gilty. 

  
  
  


“God, you’re killin’ me here Neens.” he says, squeezing his eyes closed before letting out what she can tell is a very suppressed grunt as her hips continue to shift.

  
  
  


“I have no idea what you’re talking about, Bowen.” she says deviously. But she can  _ feel _ him, and it’s setting her body on fire, because they’d barely made it this far before and her body  _ wants _ . Because before, last year, she had wanted it, too. But the way she wants it now is different, makes her feel like she might die without it. She leans back, his chest pressed to her back and tucks her head into the crook of his neck. “Ricky?” she whispers breathlessly. 

  
  
  


“Mhnm?” he sounds out of breath already too, fingers tightening carefully around the sides of her hips so as not to do anything he shouldn’t. She wants to laugh because there is just about nothing he shouldn’t do, and the tight knot forming in the pit of her stomach she only lets herself acknowledge he’s caused at night is screaming at her for it. 

  
  
  


She’s still pressing against his ass but there’s no friction where  _ she _ needs it, and her body is aching. “I need-- I need--” she gasps while continuing to draw slow circles against his hips, so slow she barely even realizes she’s doing it. 

  
  
  


His hand trails down her thigh then back up again and she shivers. It stops a few inches from where she’s burning up and she feels his other hand tilt her head back as it was before to look into her eyes. “Is this okay?” he breaths as his hand slowly moves closer to where she needs it, and she can only nod her head quickly before turning her head back so he can press light kisses there. “Words, baby, I need words.” he mutters against her neck. 

  
  
  


And the pet name alone nearly sends her over the edge, she realizes by the pitch of her whine. Crap.

  
  
  


“Mhm, please.” she sighs, encouraging his hand until it’s finally pressing against her. A whimper escapes her as she feels the pads of 2 of his fingers press down lightly over her jeans. An unexpected whine is drawn from her, and her hips buck up into his touch then slam back down into his hips, and he moans, and it doesn’t take long before she starts seeing stars as he sets a steady rhythm with his fingers. 

  
  
  


“Ah-- I--  _ shit _ . We gotta stop Nini,” he says with a frustrated moan. 

She peeks her head out from his shoulder. “Is this because of Cassie? I thought you were still broken up?” she whispers, face an incredibly flushed tomato red, afraid of the answer.

  
  
  


He just runs his fingers through her hair and smiles at her, all charming and perfect and she really missed being on the receiving end of this. “We are, this is not about Cassie,  _ god no. _ ” he says reassuringly, petting the frizziness his fingers created moments ago away. “Nini I-- just.” his cheeks redden as he speaks and a bashful look takes over his expression. “I just didn’t think I’d ever get to do that with you, and on the off chance I’m the luckiest guy in the world and I do get to, I don’t want it to be on EJ’s dad’s Ottoman. You deserve like, all that fairy tail romance crap. You always have.” 

  
  
  


“You’d want to do this?” she vaguely gestures to their position and implied activities with her hands. “Like, with me?” 

  
  
  


“I’d wanna do anything and everything with you Neens.” 

  
  
  


“Kiss me?” 

  
  
  


He strokes her cheek with his thumb and tucks a hair behind her head before leaning in. “Always.” 

  
  
  


They make out lazily until Nini’s eyes can’t stay open, and he drives her home. It’s a little fuzzy but Nini thinks she makes a joke about him being the DD tonight and that he escorts her up to her room, picking out her pajamas and telling her to change while he creeps downstairs--carefully so she assumes, as not to wake her parents, because even Nina herself can’t picture the horror they might impose--to find Advil and one of those giant metal water bottles. 

  
  
  


When he returns with the pills and water in hand, he smiles at the childish nature of the pajamas he had grabbed. 

  
  
  
  


“Stop it!” she whispers with a laugh. “Hey, you picked these out big man, try and laugh one more time I dare--”

  
  
  


He holds his hands up feigning innocence. “I said nothing.” His smile is huge and sweet and familiar and he tucks her in, pushing her hair out of her face and behind her shoulders. He rests her on her side and tucks a pillow behind her back to insure she stays that way before pulling up the covers and stroking her cheek one last time. 

  
  
  


“Night Neens.” 

  
  
  


“Mmhph. No. Stay. Fall asleep with me, please?” she mumbles with a groan, her heavy eyelids closing, headache already presenting itself. 

  
  
  


“Not tonight.” he smiles while biting his lower lip endearingly. She barely hears him utter the words, “Maybe one day if I’m lucky, though.” before she drifts off to sleep. 

  
  
  


…

  
  
  


Nini has been back on the campus for a little over a week now, and it’s going okay, good even, but she still misses her friends at home and the senior year she’d been expecting until last year. 

  
  
  


She also thinks it may have something to do with her daily texts to and from Ricky, but that’s neither here nor there. 

  
  
  


The texts usually start innocently enough. They just don’t always seem to stay quite like that. Tonight is an example. Because the girl Nini shares a room with is gone, and she has way too much pent up sexual frustration after their week of texts and the memory of the party that was left unfinished in her mind. 

  
  
  


They'd already been texting for over an hour, the last thing having been sent being a picture (that was not suggestive at all, no, she would never do that of course) of her costume for the school’s next play. And if the dress happened to look a bit suggestive on its own, well, that wasn’t Nini’s fault. It’s been about 10 minutes since he responded to it with a keyboard smash and some praise about how good she looked now and would look in the play. She texts him back, deciding to take the path of directness. 

  
  
  


**10:15 PM // Nini:** sooooo. u up for a game? I'm bored.

**10:17 PM // Ricky:** what kind of game are you thinking of miss salazar-roberts? 

**10:18 PM // Nini:** the kind where we ask dirty things with the lame coverup of them being 20 questions so we feel less whoreish? 

**10:18 PM // Ricky:** who are you and what have you done with my nini????

**10:19 PM // Nini:** the old nini can’t come to the phone right now.

**10:19 PM // Nini:** why? 

**10:19 PM // Ricky:** GOD NO NINI NOT ANOTHER TAYLOR SWIFT REFERENCE I SWEAR TO GOD!!!!!

**10:20 PM // Nini:** well go on and ask me a question then loverboy ;)

**10:21 PM // Ricky:** you sure?

**10:21 PM // Nini:** very sure.

**10:23 PM // Ricky:** ummm…….what color is your underwear….?????

**10:23 PM // Ricky:** THIS IS SO EMBARRASSING IM SORRY IM NOT GOOD AT THISDKFJKS

**10:23 PM // Ricky:** UR EMBARRASSING ME BY MAKING ME EMBARRASS MYSELF NINI SAVEME

**10:24 PM // Nini:** lmaooo youre too cute. we can stop if u want to?? no pressure seriously 

**10:24 PM // Ricky:** i really do not want to stop just. you don’t want to stop either right? 

**10:25 PM // Nini:** you’d be correct. and pink

**10:25 PM // Nini:** my turn? 

**10:25 PM // Ricky:** yeah do ur worst

**10:26 PM // Nini:** when was the last time you got yourself off and what did you think about? 

**10:27 PM // Ricky:** Nini!!!!!!! shit youre way too crazy for my good tonight

**10:27 PM // Ricky:** also pretty sure thats 2 questions cheater

**10:28 PM // Nini:** fair enough ricardo. when was the last time you got yourself off then?

**10:30 PM // Ricky:** …...ummm likeee. An hour ago?

**10:30 PM // Ricky:** and when was the last time you did miss innocent? 

**10:31 PM // Nini:** an hour?? damn bowen you continue to surprise me. 

**10:31 PM // Nini:** welllll some of us dont have the luxury of no roommates so. the night before i left for the airport i suppose

**10:32 PM // Nini:** my turn now. what were you thinking about? 

**10:33 PM // Ricky:** i cant tell you that……...like i seriously can’t 

**10:33 PM // Nini:** its just me richard, no judgement i promise..

**10:34 PM // Ricky:** k well i ugh alright so I mayyy have been being a fuckingcreepandmaybethinkingaboutyouinthat dress you sent me a picture of ANDIM SORRY BUT YOULOOKEDSOHOTAND I AM NOT THAT STRONG A MAN NINI

**10:35 PM // Nini:** i mean….that was definitely one of the intentions ;) 

**10:36 PM // Ricky:** god neens i swear if you dont chill out real soon theres no way im going to bed without a cold shower tonight

**10:38 PM // Nini:** you know, my roomates gone tonight

**10:39 PM // Ricky:** am I being asked to make a suggestion?

**10:40 PM // Nini:** welllll. i could imagine what you’d do to me

**10:40 PM // Nini:** or i could just listen to you tell me…..

**10:40 PM // Nini:** bc one way or another im getting off tonight

**10:41 PM // Ricky:** woah 

**10:41 PM // Nini:** im sorry that was too far wasnt it

**10:42 PM // Ricky:** no no it wasnt just. Woah

  
  
  


And then Nini’s phone rings and she panics, because confident sexting Nini is way less shy than real on the phone Nini, but she hits the answer button anyway, and-

  
  
  


And he sounds out of breath like her too, and that knowledge, that she’s able to make him feel this way too, is enough to spark the confidence she’d been manifesting early back into a small fragile flame.

  
  
  


“Nini,” he says breathlessly. 

  
  
  


“Ricky…” 

  
  
  


“Are you… do you wanna do this? Like for real?” 

  
  
  


“I do, I think I need to before I combust because I’m so--”

  
  
  


“Holy shit you’re the hottest person I’ve ever known. Okay, uh. Okay.” he clears his throat, and she loves the rasp of his voice that comes through the phone next. “Can you- erm- putyourhandoveryourunderwear, but just, nothing more?” he mumbles quickly and with a shaky breath.

  
  
  


“Yeah,” she gasps as she does what he says, sliding the hand not holding her phone down past her stomach and under the elastic of her pajama shorts before resting her palm lightly over the space between her thighs. 

  
  
  


“Put the phone on speaker and use your other hand to- to twistyournipples between your fingers it’ll feel good I swear.” 

  
  
  


Nini does, and she lets out a surprised moan at the feeling. “Yeah. S’good.” 

  
  
  


“And now just- just rock into your hand a little, okay? Like how I was doing it at the party but with your whole hand.” 

  
  
  


Nini presses her hips up into her hand, the pink fabric still separating the direct contact she needs, but it feels torturously good and she’s not about to stop. A whimper escapes her as a groan comes from Ricky’s end of the line, and she can’t help but wonder. “Are you- are you touching yourself too?” she gasps. 

  
  
  


“Can I?” he says while taking a sharp breath. 

  
  
  


“Yes. Yeah, yes, yes please.” 

  
  
  


“Fuck you’re unreal, so unreal Nina. Do you want to take off your underwear now?” 

  
  
  


Nini nods frantically then realizes he can’t see her. “Mhm I really do.” she whines. 

  
  
  


“Do it, Neens, I want you to tell me what it feels like--” he says as he cuts his own self off with a moan.

  
  
  


She slides her shorts and underwear down her legs quickly and flies her hand back over where it was palming, only now there’s no layers, and she’s not quiet about the fact. “Wet, Ricky, s’ wet and good--  _ ah-- _ so good,” 

  
  
  


He instructs her using a few directions with what to do with her hand, one low and covering her wetness and the other twisting around her nipples. And she follows those directions, follows them until she’s a panting, whining, sweaty mess and he sounds the exact same and she can just  _ imagine _ what it would be like to have him here in this minute, and as she voices the thought as she tips over the edge, hearing him follow soon after. 

  
  
  


They both pant on the line for a few minutes, silently trying to catch their breaths. “That was the hottest thing I’ve ever done.” 

  
  
  


“Sweet talker,” she giggles breathily. “You know you don’t need to convince me to do that again? I’ve never come that hard, like- ever. Hottest thing  _ I’ve _ ever done? Yeah, likely. No way that’s the hottest thing you’ve ever done though, god, have you seen yourself? Seen Cassie?” 

  
  
  


“No, Nini, she could never make me like this, even in person. Only you, Nina. It’s only ever you.” 

  
  
  


She smiles at the sentiment. “It’s only ever you too, Ricky.” 

  
  
  


…

  
  
  


It’s been a month, but no one knows. They came to the agreement together, because everything over the last near year had been  _ so much _ . Nini tells him she wants it to be them, just them, and Ricky agrees. 

  
  
  


They text every waking moment, and not just silly jokes or songs (although exchanging playlists are still kind of their thing. And Nini kind of loves it a lot). Nini talks about first period and theater practice, and the one girl with a vendetta against her for no apparent reason. Ricky talks about his mom a lot like they should’ve before, and his grades, always making sure to send messages about how their friends are doing too. 

  
  
  


And it’s all so perfect. So perfect Nini could burst. They live in their little bubble of love (and on occasion more. She hadn’t anticipated the electric current he awoke in summer to only forge on stronger, but, like. She wasn’t complaining, and he certainly wasn’t either, so it was fine. A little out of character, sure, but love made you do things like that, right? Yeah, it had too). 

  
  
  


It’s late November now, already dark outside despite it only being after 5 PM as Nini walks back to her room. Before anything else, she props open her laptop on the twin bed and sends a video chat message to Ricky. As she waits for him to pick up she throws her backpack by her desk and starts to slips her shoes off. 

  
  
  


“Someone looks warm.” he laughs, and Nini snaps her head up from her boot laces she was tying, not having realized he was there. 

“Freezing, actually.” she shivers as she shrugs off the thickest of her 3 coats. She pulls on the end of 1 scarf and pulls it off. 

“I love it when you look like a cold little marshmallow.” he says with adoration, watching her take off another coat. “I want to take allllll your jackets and scarfs and mittens off and then scoop you up and cuddle you until you’re warm again. I miss you.” 

  
  
  


She smiles. “Miss you so much. Only 15 more days, right?” he responds to her with a sweet hum. 

  
  
  


She shifts the mood back to their playful banter--she’d already cried more times than she’d like to admit with him when letting her mind actively drift to missing him, especially when he’s right there on the screen, but not actually  _ there-- _ by saying, “And you  _ wish _ you could undress all this.” Nini says with a sarcastic smirk, teasing off her other scarf seductively and then swinging it like a whip. 

  
  
  


“Yeah, I do, but I think I’d be able to settle for a sexy FaceTime strip tease instead.” he says jokingly, wearing a similar grin. 

  
  
  


She giggles and starts slowly stripping off her last jacket until she is only in a bulky long sleeve t-shirt. “Real sexy, huh?” she teases, throwing the jacket at her camera jokingly before repositioning it as she takes a seat on her bed. 

  
  
  


“Neens, literally everything you do is sexy.” 

  
  
  


“Such a sweet talker, that’s what gets me in trouble.” she smiles. “What am I supposed to do about that?” 

  
  
  


“Well,” he clears his throat jokingly as if getting ready to make a serious announcement. “In my very humble opinion, I’d say this mouth of mine gets us into nothing but good things.” he smiles proudly. 

  
  
  


“Humble opinion, huh?” she says as she abruptly strips off her long sleeve, revealing her bare chest as she does so because she hadn’t worn a bra today, giving him a teasing cheshire cat smile. 

  
  
  


His eyes widen into gigantic saucers as he frantically looks around his room and recalculates, taken aback as much as she was expecting, adjusting his computer so the screen is better hidden. “What was that!” he whisper-screams. 

  
  
  


“Strip tease?” she says innocently. 

  
  
  


She watches him stare at the screen, eyes trailing down getting lost until he suddenly jerks his eyes from her chest back up to her eyes again. “Alright. Yup, I can die happily now.” he says with a curt nod. Nini giggles. 

  
  
  


“Really? You haven’t even gotten to taste them yet though. I’d bet that’s better.” she smirks. 

  
  
  


“You are killing me! Absolutely killing me!” he exclaims with a charming laugh and scrunched up eyes, feigning pain with a deep blush tainting his cheeks. “Is the roommate gone?” he whispers.

  
  
  


“No, I just stripped right in front of her.” she says with a sarcastic voice and eyeroll. “Hey Kate! You wanna say hi to Ricky?” she jokes, speaking to her roommates empty bed and he shakes his head while rolling his own eyes. 

  
  
  


“You know you’re still naked, right? Because it’s kinda making me want to explode.” 

  
  
  


“Not naked yet.” she shrugs before stripping off her pants so she’s only in her underwear. “Now I am.” she smirks.

  
  
  
  


“Nini! God, what--  _ shit _ you-- you--” he stutters, face heating up. “You’re crazy, holy crap how did I get so damn lucky? Are you real? Is this happening? I think I need to pinch myself.” 

  
  
  
  


“You got like, 10 minutes Bowen. Clock’s ticking.” she says as she bites her lip. “Better warm me up.” 

  
  
  
  


“Mhm, yeah okay, yup, put the computer on the desk and then prop yourself against the pillow like last time, kay?” 

  
  
  


She smiles. Does what he says. Yeah, she really loves this shithead. 

  
  
  
  


17 minutes later--because Ricky loves to tease, especially when she tells him not to. She both despises and loves it at the same time--she’s cozied up under her heavy comforter in fleece pajama pants and fuzzy socks, letting him whisper sweet nothings in her ear as she drifts off. 

  
  
  


And Nini is so damn content. All warm, feeling filled to the brim with love and safety. Ricky promised to wake her up in an hour or 2 so she could nap before starting her homework. Sometimes they’ll do that, both of them. Watch the other sleep through the screen while doing homework, or both fall asleep together. 

  
  
  


Right now he’s telling her a story about Red--more background noise in the form of his soothing voice than anything--and if she concentrates hard enough, she can almost feel his breath in her ear talking like she’s wrapped up in his arms. She falls asleep to the sound of him telling her ‘I love you’ in as many forms possible. 

  
  
  


…

  
  
  


She runs into his open arms, hearing him grunt as he spins her around once she’s secured his legs tightly against his waist. He sets her down but only hugs her tighter, closer. She wants to melt. Wants to smother him in kisses and fulfill the promises they’d made over the last few months for when they got to see each other again. Except  _ everyone _ is there. Nini’s moms, Ashlyn, Kourt, Gina, even Big Red and EJ. Everyone is there, so she cannot smother him in kisses nor reenact their wildest fantasies. 

  
  
  


He’s still gripping her so tight, and she feels so safe, so loved. She bounces up on her tiptoes and lets her mouth hover near his ear. “I want to be alone with you now.” she smirks, feeling him shiver. 

  
  
  


“God, if it weren’t for everyone watching I would kiss you so hard right now, Neens.” 

  
  
  


His words pull her back into the moment and she presses a final smile into his neck. And if she also presses what she would describe as a practically unnoticeable kiss into the soft skin under his ear, well. She really shouldn’t be blamed for that. It’s been like,  _ months _ .

  
  
  


Sinking back onto her toes she runs into both of her mom's arms first taking in their comforting grip of safety. Hugs all the other people she loves most, smiles so big she thinks her face might break. 

  
  
  


…

  
  
  


It’s fucking freezing, winter’s presence all too well-known in Salt Lake. They’re sitting on the hood of Ricky’s car wrapped in the 2 blankets he brought. The blankets--unsurprisingly--aren’t enough, so Nini has buried her body against his side and is covered with an arm holding her tight, bundling his jacketed arm close around her like a cocoon for warmth. 

  
  
  


Nini’s flight back to school is tomorrow, so it all feels more bitter-sweet than she’d like. The uncertainty is scary. But she has him at this moment. Him and his wide eyes and safe grasp. Him with red cheeks, yes frostbitten but really still rosy from before (before being his bed, sheets smelling like  _ them _ , his dad out of the house so that this time they’re allowed to moan each other's names freely.  _ Him _ . Him inside her and around her and a part of her in every sense of the word. Just  _ him _ ).

  
  
  


“Cassiopeia.” he murmurs as he presses his lips to the top of her hair, pointing vaguely at the constellation. Nini hums sweetly. “Oh! There-- Little Bear, Ursa Minor.” he says as he gestures his pointer finger to a different clump of stars. 

  
  
  


“We’re under the same stars the Greek Gods who named them were under. Isn't that crazy?” Nini says, lifting her head up to rest her chin against his chest and meeting his eyes. “Like, maybe even millions of years, and the stars may have burned out of their galaxy by now too but they’re still attached to our sky, they’re still here. Like they’re meant to be with our world or something. Connected, for always.” 

  
  
  


His face bursts into a soft smile, admiring her cuteness. “You are the magical person I have ever and will ever know. Have I ever told you that?” he says as he takes the same pointer finger he’d used to find constellations and finds new ones, this time connecting the constellations of freckles on her face as he strokes her soft skin lightly. 

  
  
  


She leans into the touch. “Maybe once or twice.” she smirks.

  
  
  


A moment later she raises her weight onto her elbows to give him a peck before settling back against his heartbeat. “Do you think, I don't know. Like, maybe we have a constellation? That maybe we are one ourselves? Because even when I’m with you or even away from you or anything in between there’s just this…” 

  
  
  
  


“Magnetic pull. Like gravity. Like we’re connected.” he says, helps finish the words she couldn’t find for her. He tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. Nini nods and bites her lip. Sees how his eyes flit down to look before quickly returning to her own eyes. They’re staring into each other's eyes, and Nini swears she can see his soul, because she knows her own must be barred for him right now too. “For always.” he ends his thought, exhaling softly. 

  
  
  


Nini pulls him into a searing kiss, but it’s so much more than passion or fire, gentle or lovely, it’s unlike any kiss they’ve ever shared. This time she can feel the universe between their lips. 

  
  
  


After an amount of time indiscernible to Nina as their time usually is, years or seconds--maybe even a lifetime--they both finally pull away for air with foreads resting together, smiling breathlessly. “I don’t know what’s gonna happen when we go to college, where we’ll go or if we’ll stay together. What our futures will be like. What moments in life they’ll both connect. Don't even know about the next 6 months, let alone the rest of our lives." she says. 

  
  
  


"But what I do know is that no matter what, together or apart, we will always find each other again. It doesn’t matter if we part or for how long. We’re a constellation.” she rubs her thumb gently over his sharp cheekbones. “Bound to each other ‘till the end of time, even when we burn out.” 

  
  


**Author's Note:**

> hey look, you made it all the way down here, thanks for reading :D feel free to leave any feedback or fic requests in the comments :)


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